Jax Fifth Ave Deli & Ale House, which is settling into the former Carole’s Silver Diner location at 5046 New Centre Dr., opened its doors to customers on Tuesday night. Owner Jack Thompson, who also owned Jax Fifth Ave. restaurants in Florida, said he’s trying to achieve a neighborhood feel. He’s adding a lot of wood, including a bar top from Old Growth Riverwood and flooring from the deck of the USS North Carolina.

“We want to provide good, casual dining, lots of craft beer which is something we’ve been known for, a selection of wines. We’re also part deli, part sports scene,” he said. Beer fans should look for the Muggers Club, an around-the-world beer group with special privileges and discounts when you try 100 beers. That shouldn’t be a problem considering they hope to eventually offer 200-300 different bottled beers, as well as a couple of dozen on tap. The menu features 25 salads, sandwiches, and flat-bread pizzas priced from $7.50-8.95. Thompson recently sold the Florida restaurants to settle in Wilmington, halfway between his children in New York and Florida

I began eating there shortly after opening. My wife and I try to stick to an organic diet avoiding processed foods as much as possible. We have tried many restaurants around town including Bone Fish Grille. In every case the food makes us ill with digestive problems and hangover like symptoms.

After eating at Jax several times in since they opened we have never experienced any discomfort or pain from eating their food. Considering we have been trying restaurants (and even places such as Whole Foods buffet [very processed]) for the last 3 years to find a place to enjoy a meal Jax has become or only real hangout.

Plus, the food is easily on par with any restaurant in town. You cannot do much better than Jax if you can do better at all.

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Welcome to the StarNews food blog – where we focus on the fine, not-so-fine and just plain funky eats in the Cape Fear region. We cover all sorts of edible tidbits: restaurant buzz, interesting ingredients (and how to use them), recipes, great deals and more.